History

1919

January
4- The great fire in Myersville occurred. This fire destroyed a large
part of the businesses in town along with several residents’ homes.
Citizens stood by with no means of fire protection. This upset the
residents so that they began to look for ways to purchase some equipment
to fight the fires.

1925

The
Myersville Volunteer Fire Company was organized by the Town of
Myersville, the actual business of the fire company would not get
started for at least a couple of years.

1931

August 11- The Burgess and Council of Myersville were looking into purchasing a Chemical Engine to assist in firefighting.

September
14- The Burgess and Council asked the Independent Hose Company of
Frederick to demonstrate a Chemical Engine for the benefit of the people
of Myersville.

October
26- The Burgess with the consent of two of the Council members agreed
to purchase an American LaFrance Fire Engine from Frederick E. Benson of
Paterson, New Jersey for $390. F. Lowery of Myersville will be paid
$50 to haul the truck to Myersville.

November 5- The fire company was officially organized.

November
19- A 1916 Model American LaFrance fire engine was delivered from
Paterson, New Jersey. It was kept in John Horine’s shed first for $7.50
a year rent, then John “Tucker” Shank’s old creamery building, and
finally the old school across from the fire hall.

1935

August
21- The fire company purchased the Central Trust Co. bank building on
the corner of Main Street and Wolfsville Road for $2,150. An addition
was built on the back to house the fire engine.

October
28- The fire company was incorporated as the Myersville Volunteer Fire
Company, Inc. A siren was placed on the Lutheran Church steeple and
later on the fire hall to alert the volunteers.

1936

A
three-inch water main was run down the west side of Main Street and a
six-inch main on the east side. Fire hydrants were also added to this
line to aid in fighting fires.

1941

The
fire company took over the “Homecoming Festival” in Myersville and the
term was changed to Firemen’s Carnival, this was a huge community event.

August 7-8- The fire company hosted the 7th Annual Frederick County Firemen’s Association Annual Convention in conjunction with the Homecoming.

October
22- The need for up to date fire equipment was realized so the fire
company purchased a new 1941 Diamond T truck with an American LaFrance
pump at a cost of $4,200. The truck had a 500-gpm pump and a 250-gallon
tank. The fire company still owns the truck.

1951

Paul
L. Hoffmaster president of the fire company for 1946 and 1952 was
elected as the President of the Frederick County Firemen’s Association.

1957

March
5- The fire company bought 5.16 acres of land from the Potomac Edison
Company for $4,000. The fire company saw a need for a new fire hall and
community center.

1958

The fire company built a new fire hall and community center in it presents location for $45,000.

1960

The Ladies Auxiliary of the Myersville Volunteer Fire Company was established.

1961

There were 46 active members. The fire company ran a total of 19 calls that year.

1962

September
13- A new International truck with a 750 gpm Howe midship pump was
purchased. It had a 500 gallon tank with two ¾” booster reels. The
total cost of the truck with radio was $13,150

1967

February
2- The fire company voted to buy a new fire engine, prices were to be
checked on a 300 and a 500-gallon truck. Butcherings were a big money
maker for us! They were a lot of work but it paid off. Dues to the
County Fire Association were only $6 and the dues to the Maryland State
Firemen’s Association were $25, my how times change.

October 2- The fire company voted 28 yes, 10 no, 1 abstained to purchase the fire engine that the Truck Committee proposed.

October
14- Reed Motor, the Ford dealer in Middletown made a bid of $5,150.14
for a 1968 Ford F750 truck that would become our new fire engine. The
total cost of the complete truck was $19,000. The fire company began
looking into an ambulance service; there were several bids on Cadillac
style ambulances. The dream of an ambulance would not be realized for
several years.

1968

March- Ford Motor delivered the truck chassis to Maxim Corporation to begin the conversion into a fire engine.

March 4- The residents of Wolfsville began to show an interest in better fire protection for their area.

April
1- The Board of Directors brought a proposal to the fire company in
regards to fire service in Wolfsville. The Wolfsville area needs to
provide a heated building to house one fire engine and provide a siren
to alert the volunteers. The Diamond T fire engine (still in MVFC
possession) is to go to Wolfsville when the building is done. There
will only be one Treasurer, one President, and one Chief between
Myersville and Wolfsville. Wolfsville can have there own line
officers. The new fire engine will be 81 and the Diamond T will be
211. The fire company approved this and the Wolfsville sub-station was
born.

September 20- The Diamond T is delivered to Wolfsville. The fire company ran 40 calls for the year.

1969

January- Turnout gear
costs $60 a set. The fire company ran 36 calls for the year. The fire
company has three pumpers and one tanker truck.

March 28- This
was a tragic day for the Myersville Volunteer Fire Company. Mr. J.
Floyd Harp and Mr. Gaither R. Frushour, collided head-on enroute to a
fire call, both were pronounce dead. These were our only Line of Duty
deaths in company history. Both men were recognized for their service
and the Maryland State Firemen’s Association paid their pensions to
their respective family members.

April
7- A motion was passed to activate the house siren each Saturday at
noon as a test. The idea of purchasing an ambulance was once again
kicked around.

1970

March- Company voted to pay $1,000 to purchase a 1952 Ford Tank Truck from the Guardian Hose Company in Thurmont.

December- The fire company ran a total of 67 calls for the year.

1971

Talks
began about buying a new fire engine for the Wolfsville sub-station.
By the end of the year the fire company voted in favor of purchasing
another Maxim pumper on an International chassis for a price of
$19,082.92. There were signs of distention between the Myersville and
Wolfsville stations, ideas were talked about to try and improve
relations and open the lines of communication between the two companies.

1972

The
members of the Myersville Volunteer Fire Company are looking into ways
to expand the present fire hall which was built in 1958.

July 6- The new fire engine for Wolfsville arrived.

1973

The
fire company joined the Frederick County Fire Police. Also that year a
1964 Ford Tank Truck was bought for Wolfsville, the fire company really
began to grow.

1974

The
siren was moved from the Post Office on the corner of Main Street and
Wolfsville Road to the fire company. The company is again looking at an
ambulance service this time at a cost of $15,000-$23,000.

June 3- A committee was formed to look into the idea of an ambulance service.

Oh,
the good ole days, “there was a discussion on riding mini-bikes on the
fire company grounds”. If only things were that easy today!

1975

May 8- The idea of re-establishing the Festival in Myersville was discussed, most members felt it was a good idea.

1976

February 25- The fire company approved funds to purchase supplies to outfit an ambulance

April
17- Ambulance Captain William Stine placed Ambulance 89 in service!
The ambulance was housed at 309 Main Street until it went in service.

May-
Work on the addition has begun. The company added two more bays to
house the engines. The volunteers, at a great saving for the fire
company, would do most of the work.

July
5- The fire company decided that all unit numbers on the doors of the
fire engines or ambulance would represent the respective fire company,
i.e., 81, 211.

1977

October-
The fire company looked into the idea of buying a second ambulance to
be used mainly for routines and stand-bys. This idea never made it to
fruition, yet.

1978

August- Terry Lewis began discussions at the company meeting about splitting the Myersville and Wolfsville fire stations.

1979

February-
The land for the current town park, between the fire company and
apartment building, was donated to the Town of Myersville with the
stipulation that the Town develops it into a park and that they will
never sell it without fire company approval. The Festival in Myersville
was stopped; members felt it was too much work for the little bit of
money they were making.

September-
Charles Martin headed a committee that was to look in the pros and cons
of splitting the Myersville and Wolfsville fire stations. The
committee decided and the company approved the split of the two
stations! The equipment and buildings currently there were to stay in
Wolfsville and there were to be no hard feelings only a mutual agreement
to work together.

November-
The Ladies Auxiliary split for a short time, the money left in the
treasury was to be split equally between Myersville and Wolfsville.

1980

Brush
85 was placed in service. There were some drawings found that showed
another building addition to allow room for a second ambulance, a third
engine, and a tanker.

E 83, T8, B85

E 81, E 82

Banquet Hall

A 88, A 89

*Drawing found in the fire company minutes.

There were more discussions about replacing the ambulance.

1981

January- Mark Sexton became the new chief of the fire company, he remained chief for the next 17 years.

1982

April-
The fire company voted to purchase a Road Rescue ambulance at a cost of
$35,500. The Ladies Auxiliary was re-initiated and their work and
dedication to the Myersville Fire Company was renewed. A new pumper
fund began. The current units were beginning to deteriorate.

1983-1984

Some
little things that are still around, the “Members Only” sign was made
and donated to the fire company by Stanley Kline a long time woodworker
in Myersville.

July 1983- The fire company bought a 1978 Dodge Power Wagon for $4,500 to be used as Brush 85.

The
fire engines deteriorated, they failed pumps tests and they needed to
be replaced! The company may possibly be placed out of service until
the problems are repaired.

We
were given a reprieve with the understanding that we get the units
fixed or replaced. Mark Sexton and the fire company begin to look for
funds to replace the fire engine. An emergency loan from the Maryland
State Firemen’s Association allowed us to purchase a Ford 8000 chassis
and a Grumman body with a 1000-gallon tank and a 1000 GPM pump.

1985

The
Ford/Grumman was placed in service as Engine 81 to the delight of the
company and Frederick County. All I can say is that this is still one
of the BEST running and operating trucks in Frederick County. With the
purchase of Engine 81 the fire company took a step in the right
direction in updating and improving our fleet of trucks.

1989

January-
The fire company elected a new president with Lew Dominick. We also
replaced Ambulance 89 with a Ford/Collins ambulance off the Montgomery
County bid.

April
24- A mountain fire on Braddock Mountain consumed 15-25 acres of brush,
it took over 100 firefighters from many companies to contain and
extinguish this exhausting fire. The fire was believed to have been
started from a hot Catalytic Converter igniting leaves.

June
10- A 50-year-old man was killed when his plane slammed into the side
of a hill on Harp Hill Road. Poor visibility from rain and fog were to
blame.

December-
The fire company ran 159 fire calls, Wayne Hinkle and Rick Breeze were
the top responders. Paul Spangler was the Firefighter of the Year.
There were 292 ambulance calls; Sue Davis was the top responder.

1990

Steve
Miles began a smoke detector program. Hechinger’s donated 100
detectors and Bidle Brothers Excavating donated funds for 25 more.
William Rinkinen took over as Ambulance Captain. The fire company began
planning for a new fire engine, not sure if it would be an
engine-tanker, rescue-engine, or tanker.

1991

February 17- Camp Skycroft Recreation Center burned. The building was fully involved upon our arrival.

August 24- A fire on Hollow Road destroyed a shed on a farm, no injuries were noted.

September 6- A jackknifed tractor-trailer on Westbound Interstate 70 had traffic shut down for over three (3) hours.

September 21- The fire company hosted its first Car Show, the funds raised from this event would go towards the new fire engine.

The
fire company finally decided on a rescue-engine. This would be quite
an upgrade, it was embarrassing responding to a call on the Interstate
and only being able to drive 35 MPH with lights and sirens on, we caused
more of a traffic problem than the call.

December-
The fire company ran 149 fire calls, Mark Hinkle was the top
responder. Wayne Hinkle was the Firefighter of the Year. We ran 236
ambulance calls, Sue Davis was the top responder for the 9th year in a row.

1992

February
28- Rescue-Engine 82 was placed in service at a cost of $160,000. This
unit featured enclosed seating for five (5) firefighters. Rear step
riding was outlawed. It was deemed unsafe even though it was lots of
fun.

June-
Beginning in June, Frederick County lost three (3) dedicated officers.
On June 30 the Braddock Heights fire company lost their Assistant Chief
James Stavely to a heart attack during a call.

August 13
the Myersville Volunteer Fire Company lost a very dedicated young
officer. Captain Wayne Hinkle was killed in a car accident just minutes
from the fire company, this accident was extremely tough on the members
who had to respond for one of their own. Also in August the New Midway Fire Company lost their chief, Richard Moser, to a heart attack.

December-
The fire company responded to 193 fire calls, the top responder was
Wayne Neal. The Firefighter of the Year was Lew Dominick. There were
258 ambulance calls with Sue Davis being the top responder once again.

1993

January- Raymond Hinkle was elected as the new president of the fire company.

March- A memorial display case was unveiled in honor of Wayne Hinkle.

Possibly the biggest EMT class got underway. 12 members of Myersville started this lengthy class.

December- There were
233 fire calls for 1993, Wayne Neal and Dave Eichelberger tied for top
responder. Dave Eichelberger was named Firefighter of the Year. There
were 285 ambulance calls with Sue Davis claiming the top responder spot
again. We had several large fires that year. First we had a tractor
trailer load of Perdue® chickens jump the curb at McDonald’s® and travel
down an embankment and catch fire, what a bar-b-que. We also responded
to Inwood, West Virginia for an extremely large tire fire.

1994

Chief Mark Sexton
found a way to have a used (repoed) Ford F250 donated to the fire
company from Myersville Bank. After several hours and some upgrades
such as a 250-gallon tank and a 500-gpm pump the new Brush 85 was placed
in service. This truck did the job for just a short time. Brush 85
was wrecked after performing a service call to pump out a basement due
to the massive snowfall melting quickly. On the way back to the station
the truck hit a patch of ice and hit a tree, no one was injured but the
truck was totaled.

A committee was set up to begin looking at plans for a new Ambulance 89.

Once again the company
was talking of a new and bigger fire hall to house all our apparatus
and to upgrade the banquet facilities.

We ran 226 fire calls,
Wayne Neal was the top responder and Firefighter of the Year. There
were 288 ambulance calls with Sue Davis being the top responder. We
suffered through probably our largest amount of fire loss ever with
$515,000 in damages. Mark Sexton was presented a special award for
being the chief for 15 years.

1995

March- We placed our
new Road Rescue/International ambulance in service at a cost of
$129,300. The larger style ambulance should last longer and serve us
better.

October 16- We held our first annual Wayne E. Hinkle Memorial Golf Tournament.

Wayne Neal was the new
Ambulance Captain. We ran 235 fire calls with Wayne Neal being the top
responder, Marty Love was the Firefighter of the Year. There were 289
ambulance calls, Sue Davis was the top responder once again!

1996

We placed a new brush truck in service, a Ford F350 was bought and all other equipment was transferred to this truck.

Kyle
Crutchley took over as Ambulance Captain. We ran 282 fire calls with
Marty Love being the top responder and Daryl Love as the Firefighter of
the Year. There were 344 ambulance calls, Sue Davis was the top
responder for the 14th year in a row.

1997

Carroll
Smith and Dennis Flook were honored at the Annual Banquet by County
Commissioner Bruce Reeder for their 40 plus years of service to the
Myersville Volunteer Fire Company.

There
were 297 fire calls with Daryl Love being the top responder and Mark
Hinkle as the Firefighter of the Year. There were 382 ambulance calls,
the top responder was Gregg Lantz. Sue Davis had been the top responder
from 1983-1996. Hey Gregg, she gave it to you.

1998

Dave Reese was the new Ambulance Captain, Marty Love was the new fire chief.

The fire company placed a 1998 Chevy Suburban in service as Utility 8, it will be used for a variety of jobs.

The fire company participated in the 250th anniversary of Frederick County parade, Engine 81 carried the Maryland State Firemen’s Association Miss Fire Prevention 1st Runner Up Amanda Kauffman through the parade. Wow it was a hot one!!

1999

September
16- The fire company applied to Frederick County to place daytime
Career firefighters in the station to assist the volunteers with their
ever-growing responsibilities for upkeep, calls, training etc. It was
getting harder and harder to do it all.

The building committee is
working hard to complete plans for a new fire hall. The committee
looked into adding on to the existing hall.

2000

Celebrating our 75th Anniversary!

January- The fire company survived the Y2K scare, no problems noted.

February-
The fire company bought a new 2000 Dodge Durango for a Duty Car for the
officers, it will be sent to Odyssey® for some work to convert it into a
very useful tool for the officers and members of the fire company.